NHS Borders first with TrakCare

NHS Borders has become the first health board to go live with the InterSystems TrakCare patient management system under a contract designed to provide a single PMS for the whole of Scotland.

The board is the first of five to go-live with core patient administration system elements in inpatients and outpatients as a result of the contract signed 12 months ago.

The contract will deliver general hospital patient administration functionality, including mental health patient administration, complex scheduling, and order communications functionality including results reporting.

The boards will also be able to call-off optional modules, including A&E, clinical support tools, hospital electronic prescribing and medicines administration, pharmacy management, maternity, mental health clinical, neonatal and theatres.

The framework contract is worth up to £120m, depending on how much of it is used and how many of the eight other health boards decide to call-off against it at a later date.

Dr Ross Cameron, who chaired the project board implementing the programme in NHS Borders, said: “Our staff have worked very hard to put everything in place in time for the go live date. In total, some 60 plus people have worked with us to deliver this on time.

"The new system provides an electronic record for patients attending hospital from referral or unscheduled admission through their inpatient and outpatient care and discharge. It also allows the information to be shared securely across staff and with GPs."

NHS Borders says the system, which is being used by around 550 staff, is already providing benefits, including better management of bookings and appointments, faster treatment decisions, faster test results and better information sharing.

Dr Cameron added: "NHS Borders are the first to go live with this new patient management system that’s capable of being implemented anywhere in Scotland.

"Until now, health boards have had different systems in place, even within the same board.

"Ensuring boards are able to use the same system will make it easier for information to be shared securely when a patient is being treated by more than one health board.”

The system is already in use at NHS Lothian, which adopted it before the Scotland-wide contract was signed. NHS Grampian will be the next to go live in February.

NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Ayrshire and Arran and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will follow one month after each another. NHS Borders will enhance its functionality by going live with A&E and order communications in May.

Dr Cameron added: "With NHS Lothian already deploying a version of the same system and four other boards in Scotland working towards their own implementation, this represents a major advance towards a Scotland-wide patient management system with huge advantages to the delivery of patient care."

Kerry Stratton, global healthcare managing director for InterSystems, said: “We were grateful to win the national contract.

"NHS Borders going live is a perfect start to the delivery phase for the rest of Scotland, based on a standardised model for software and process that embodies Scotland’s eHealth."